| High school life is very different in the two countries as well. Korean students are very focused on studying, and it is a core principle of Korean society that being a student is a young person’s primary identity. In South Korea, after the school day ends, high school students continue studying in their school libraries, at private schools, or in tutoring sessions until late at night – maybe as late as midnight. American students, in contrast, consider being a student as only one part of their identities. Americans tend to spend after-school time on extra-curricular activities such as athletics, performing arts, student government, and volunteering. Furthermore, dropout rates are very different. A USA Today article quoted a Korean high school principal as saying “no one just drops out … to drop out of school is a major disaster, a catastrophe. It wouldn’t happen unless it was unavoidable.” In fact, 93% of all Korean students graduate from high school on time, while almost 25% of American high school students — more than 1.2 million every year — fail to graduate. |
